I am a photographer, Graphic Designer and a stay-at-home-mom who enjoys blogging and writing reviews. Photography and cars are my passion. I post about various topics including health & beauty, events, automotive, music, film, travel, food, and sometimes giveaway contests.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Recipe: Jerk Chicken Fried Rice

We love having jerk chicken dinner here at home. I was recently introduced to some delicious jerk marinade and jerk sauce by Grace Foods. What is Jerk? It refers to a traditional Jamaican method of seasoning for cooking meats or vegetables. It has a blend of exotic and fragrant spices and with a little bit of heat.

Here's me getting ready to make this delicious recipe to share with you all. I was also sent this beautiful red apron with front pockets and featuring the company's logo.

This is a simple recipe that you'll sure to love. This Jerk Chicken Fried Rice is tangy and it's savoury. Because there are so many Jerk Chicken Thigh recipes out there, I decide to come up with something a little different to add to a rice dish. These succulent chicken thighs, covered with Grace Foods Jerk Sauce, are easy to make and I just simply roasted them in the oven.

For maximum flavor, marinate the chicken thighs overnight with Grace Jerk Marinade. If you forget to marinade overnight, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This marinade combines all the spices and flavors to give meat an extra burst of flavor. It's fast and easy.

1. Preheat oven at 350F.

2. Bake the chicken for about 30 minutes. Prepare the rice in a rice cooker while the chicken is baking. Once the chicken is done, remove from oven, and cut into bite-sized cubes.

3. In a large pan, heat the oil and cook the onions until caramelized. Add frozen peas and carrots and set aside.

4. Pour the beaten eggs and scramble until full cooked. Mix in the cooked vegetables and the chicken.

5. Add in the cooked rice into vegetable and chicken mixture and combine. Add the soy sauce and Jerk BBQ Sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Compliment your meal with a refreshing glass of 100% Pure Coconut Water by Grace Foods. There is no sugar nor pulp added. Beverage is best served chilled.

In the spirit of giving back, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of any Grace Foods jerk products for the month of December will support the Canadian Red Cross Hurricane Irma appeal up to $10,000. Follow the link below to receive a $1 off coupon (valid in Canada only):

Disclosure: I received samples of the above product(s) from the PR Firm/Company for my review in this post. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of other consumers. No other compensation was given.

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Book Review: Full Service Blonde - A Copper Black Mystery

One of the youngest and most popular cities in America, Las Vegas stands as a desert metropolis built on gambling and entertainment at the core. Drawing in millions of visitors and trillions of dollars to southern Nevada, its brief century existence saw many different changes over this time. Enchanted by this unlikely city locale, author Megan Edwards continues to set 'Sin City' as the backdrop in her prequel to the successful debut novel "Getting Off on Frank Sinatra".

This new book, Full Service Blonde (released November 7, 2017 by Imbrifex Books) is similar to Veronica Mars murder/mystery book. Prior to reading this book, I didn't know much about Copper Black. I got to learn a bit more about her character and her personal life. With twists and turns revealing more into Copper Black’s background and own journey toward self-discovery, Full Service Blonde offers readers the chance to dive further into the dark side of Sin City.

Description:

A working girl is found dead in the desert. Can a calendar girl uncover the truth?

In this prequel to "Getting Off on Frank Sinatra", it’s Christmastime in Sin City. Set in Las Vegas, Full Service Blonde follows aspiring journalist Copper Black who meets Victoria McKimber, an outspoken prostitute at one of Nevada’s legal brothels. She offers Copper the exclusive right to tell her story. Not only will the Las Vegas Light's "calendar girl" get a byline, but she can also impress her boyfriend and parents when they arrive for the holidays.

Copper is busy with work, Christmas shopping, and fantasizing about a whole week with her long-distance boyfriend, whom she hasn't seen in six months. She’s also helping her brother, a civic-minded pastor who is spearheading plans for a new center to serve the homeless. Things are hectic but under control when shocking news breaks. Victoria McKimber has been found dead in a muddy ditch on the outskirts of town.

As she investigates the violent death, Copper evades enemies, juggles boyfriend, work, and family, and races against time to save her brother from a sinister plot. Unless she can expose the truth about Victoria McKimber, somebody just might get away with murder.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Megan Edwards is the author of the travel memoir “Roads from the Ashes,” the humor book “Caution: Funny Signs Ahead,” a Copper Black novel “Getting off on Frank Sinatra” and a romantic novel “Strings.” She has lived and traveled extensively in Europe and spent nearly seven years "on the road" all over North America. Now at home in Las Vegas, Nevada, she is working on her next novel.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the mentioned book from the PR firm or publisher in exchange of my review. Any expressed opinions are my own and personal thoughts. No other compensation was given.

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Disney Announces Casting for "Artemis Fowl"

BURBANK, Calif. (December 20, 2017) — Disney announced today initial casting for the live-action adaptation of “Artemis Fowl,” which will be directed by Kenneth Branagh and produced by Branagh and Judy Hofflund.

The search for an actor to play Artemis Fowl was extensive, with casting director Lucy Bevan seeing over 1200 candidates for the part. Branagh chose Irish newcomer Ferdia Shaw, who will make his onscreen debut in the title role. Descended from a long line of criminal masterminds, 12-year-old genius Artemis Fowl finds himself in a battle of strength and cunning against a powerful, hidden race of fairies who may be behind his father’s disappearance.

Josh Gad (“Murder on the Orient Express,” “Marshall,” “Beauty and the Beast”) has signed on for the role of Mulch Diggums, a kleptomaniacal dwarf who works for the fairies—and himself.

Based on the bestselling book series by Eoin Colfer and with a screenplay by award-winning playwright Conor McPherson, “Artemis Fowl” is slated to release in theatres on August 9, 2019. Production will begin early next year in the U.K.

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Friday, December 15, 2017

Gift Guide: Hard Candy Cosmetics Holiday Gift Sets {Review}

The Christmas holiday is just around the corner. Here's something for the makeup enthusiast that is high quality and affordable. Hard Candy Cosmetics had recently launched an amazing Holiday 2017 collection and it's the perfect gift for any beauty lovers this Holiday season. I have seen Hard Candy Cosmetics only at Walmart and have tried some of them in the past and love it.

Hard Candy’s All Lit Up($19.97 CAD)

Prep and set your holiday look with Hard Candy’s eye shadow primer, perfecting face primer, and setting spray. My thoughts: This is a beautiful gift set with all the needs for perfect make up to complete your look. I love the natural shades that's great for daily wear.

Hard Candy’s Glow All The Way Baked Bronzer and Blush ($1.47 CAD)

Finish off your holiday look and enhance your natural beauty with these universally flattering baked powders. My thoughts: The Tiki Baked Bronzor is a baked highlight and comes in a cute, round compact with a little domed shape. It is shimmery and is great for giving my cheeks some glow. I have light to medium skin tone and the powder is pretty close to my skin tone, but just a tad lighter. It's lightweight and I really like this product.

Hard Candy’s Seize The Sparkle Nail Polish Set($4.97 CAD)

Coat your nails with these on-trend holiday shades. Wear these shades alone, or layer them together to amp up your holiday mani! My thoughts: These are pretty and I really like the sparkly colours.Whether you're going to a holiday party or out on a date, you can give your nails a little pop of color.

Hard Candy’s Fierce Effects Daring Lip Kit($3.00 CAD)
Get ready to have perfect lips with this daring lip kit! Choose between the ultra-matte or ultra-shine glossy fierce effects lipstick shades to accentuate your lips. My thoughts: I like nice, neutral shades and not so dramatic or too bright. These are perfect for me.

Hard Candy’s Bath Oil Trio($3.00 CAD)
Escape into your bath this holiday season! Delight and invigorate your senses with these bath oil trio that will leave you feeling totally relaxed! My thoughts: It's nice to be pampered in a relaxing bath once in a while.

Hard Candy’s Look Pro Mini Tins($3.00 CAD)

These Look Pro Mini Eyeshadow Tins are the perfect size for storing in your favourite cosmetic bag, or taking them on the go for those mid-day touchups! My thoughts: Although the inside plastic is cheap, the tin case is cute! This is a glittery eyeshadow palette. This is perfect for adding some holiday glam.

Hard Candy’s Look Pro Eye Contour Collection($4.97 CAD)

Get ready to take your makeup technique to the next level, and transform your eyes with this ultimate eye contour kit. My thoughts: This has to be my favourite of them all. Again as mentioned, I love using neutral colours and this eyeshadow palette completes my look. I have been using it for brown smokey eyeshadow effects.

Hard Candy’s Lip Gloss Ornament($3.00 CAD)

Give your lips a sheer kiss of delicious colour and shine for the sexiest pout with these flavoured glosses. It’s a grab and go makeup essential, and the perfect stocking stuffer! My thoughts: There's a little bit of shimmer in these creamy glosses. The nice, sweet scented gloss really got me. It's irresistable!

WHERE TO BUY:Again as mentioned, all Hard Candy Cosmetic products are available exclusively at Walmart and Walmart.ca. You don't have to spend a lot of money on cosmetic products for same great quality.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned products at no charge in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of other consumers. No other compensation was given.

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Thursday, December 7, 2017

Pamper Your Skin With Palmer's New Coconut Oil Formula {Review}

I'm excited to share with you that Palmer's skin care recently released a new line with Coconut Oil Formula. Products range from sheet masks, firming lotion, oil, and creams. The great thing about Palmer's products is that they're made from natural and ethically sourced ingredients and free of parabens, mineral oil, sulfates, phthalates, GMOs, and other harsh chemicals.

Three new products I had the opportunity to try are the Body Oil spray, Coconut Oil Body Lotion, and the Coconut Oil Body Cream. The light coconut scent is amazing. None of these products have any greasy feel and it absorbs quickly into the skin. This works great on my sensitive skin. My favourite is the body lotion because it's smooth and creamy.

Disclosure: I received samples of the above product(s) from the PR Firm/Company for my review in this post. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of other consumers. No other compensation was given.

If you like to go big for the holidays, surprise a friend with the Lip Smacker Tsum Tsum gift set (all-in-one Disney Colour Collections feature everything from lip balm to nail polish to a cute bag to carry everything in)!

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Monday, December 4, 2017

Learning Success Program {Review & Giveaway}

We've all struggled through school at some point and some of us probably paid for expensive tutoring or other ways to help succeed. I was recently introduced to Learning Success, an online learning program that could help your child by using simple strategies to solve problems. This is useful for children who are generally having difficulty in school.

The program is designed to help children with various learning difficulties or ensure that children without difficulties are developing all of the underlying learning skills up to their utmost potential.

The program also include learning disability testing for children who are showing symptoms of dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, auditory processing disorder, visual processing disorder, or other specific learning disabilities.

This program is great for parents who want to do fun activities with their children that ensure that the child is getting all of the developmental bases covered. In today's world this is important because children are spending less and less time on the developmental activities which ensure future learning.

MY THOUGHTS: I had tried some of the activities provided in this program with my son. Since this is completely new to us, we had a bit of confusion at first how to get started. The visuals (through videos) really helped. My son often has trouble focussing on his assignments at school. It is still early to tell how he is doing. So far I haven't had complaints from him or from his teachers about his class assignments. What we've been doing at home (from one of the advices through the free online screener is to have him listen to audio books and it helps him stay focussed a little bit better.

What I've learned is to accept the child has a learning challenge and focus on what can be done, instead of the negative.

{ GIVEAWAY DETAILS }

Thanks to Learning Success, they are sponsoring a giveaway to ONE lucky reader a membership to access the Learning Success Program.

Contest is open worldwide, 18+ (ends January 5th, 2018 at 12:00am PST). All entries unless otherwise noted are optional. Please enter the giveaway form below. The winner will be emailed and have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

What's included in the Membership:

- Lessons added monthly for 12 months

- Customer forums for getting help from our staff, other parents, and general discussions on the subject of childhood development and learning

- Emails mailed daily. These emails contain further instructions for the lessons and are designed to keep you on track

Private Facebook group:

- currently in the process of adding new bonuses. These are in production and will be added in the coming weeks. They HAVE NOT been announced publicly.

New Bonuses (coming soon):

1. Advanced proprioceptive exercises. Designed to develop high levels of coordination and proprioception

Disclosure: I received a complimentary membership of the program for my review in this post. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of other consumers. No other compensation was given.

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Thursday, November 30, 2017

{First Look} Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War Teaser Trailer

An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.

Anthony and Joe Russo direct the film, which is produced by Kevin Feige. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee are the executive producers. Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely wrote the screenplay. “Avengers: Infinity War” releases in theatres on May 4, 2018.

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Wednesday, November 29, 2017

TRENDY PRO Talking Socks Giveaway

Welcome to the TRENDY PRO Talking Socks Giveaway!

THE BEST SOCKS are those that fit the need of the day whether it's to stand out, bring a smile or tell someone to bring Wine, Coffee or Chocolate. Socks can even tell whether you are feeling Naughty or Nice. This would make a very special Couple's Anniversary Gift or a nice Surprise for HER on any occasion. Socks can also tell Santa to relax, keep the gifts and bring wine instead. Why not when being naughty is so worth it?

FOUR (4) lucky winners will each ramdomly receive one of the packs mentioned above. This Giveaway is valid to United States residents only, 18+. Giveaway event will end at 11:59 PM (EST) December 13, 2017. The winners will have 48 hours to email their information back.

Also we all “love it if you like us” on Facebook! If you like our blogs on social media it helps us bring you only the best giveaways and more of them! Enter below and Good Luck!

Disclosure: Bloggers in this giveaway were not compensated and are not responsible for prize fulfillment. This giveaway is in no way endorsed, affiliated, or associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Media Networking Site. You are not eligible if you have won a prize from any of the sponsors in the last 12 month. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.